The 2021 MLB Playoffs have begun! To recap each divisional winner and the wild card teams, I will begin with the American League (AL). The Tampa Bay Rays earned first seed, and second seed went to the Houston Astros. The third seed went to the Chicago White Sox. The wild card number one seed was the Boston Red Sox, and the second wild card team was the New York Yankees. In the National League (NL), the number one seed went to the San Francisco Giants. The Milwaukee Brewers are second seed, and the Atlanta Braves are third. Lastly, the two wild card teams are the Los Angeles Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals.
In the AL wild card game, the Red Sox hosted the Yankees, with the winner advancing to play the Tampa Bay Rays. To begin the scoring, after a two-out walk, Xander Bogaerts hit a laser beam home run over the center field fence to make it 2-0 Boston. In the third inning, trade deadline acquisition, Kyle Schwarber hit a no-doubt home run to right field, making it 3-0 Boston. After the two base runners scored, the Yankees pulled Gerrit Cole from the game, who had gotten six outs and played a very disappointing game. Scoring would be quiet up until the 6th inning when Anthony Rizzo hit a solo home run to make it 3-1 Red Sox. The Red Sox responded by scoring one in the bottom of the sixth on an Alex Verdugo double and then again in the seventh on another Alex Verdgo double The two runs put the game out of reach for the Yankees and advanced the Red Sox to the ALDS. The final score ended at 6-2 after Giancarlo Stanton finally hit a home run, sending two off the top of the green monster to result in base hits.
In the NL Wild Card game, the Dodgers hosted the Cardinals, who nobody expected to make the wild card coming into September. But they won seventeen straight games in September, earning themselves the wild card spot. In the top of the first inning, the Cardinals scored one run on a passed ball, making it an early 1-0 lead. Justin Turner answered with a solo home run in the fourth to tie the game at 1-1. Scoring would be silent up until the bottom of the 9th. With two outs and a runner on second, Chris Taylor came to the plate and ended the game with a two-run home run to left field, as Dodger fans went wild in the stands. The final from LA was 3-1 Dodgers.
The ALDS and NLDS matchups are Red Sox/Rays, White Sox/Astros, Dodgers/Giants, and Braves/Brewers. Currently in the AL, the Red Sox and Rays are tied up at 1 game each and the Astros are up 2-0 on Chicago. In the NL, the Dodgers and Giants are tied up at one, and so are the Braves and Milwaukee. These series are best of five, so it is still up in the air as to who will advance.
